II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 944 

To reaffirm the authority of the Department of Defense to maintain United 

States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a location for the 

detention of unprivileged enemy belligerents held by the Department 

of Defense, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2011 

Ms. AYOTTE (for herself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. 

BROWN of Massachusetts, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. WEBB) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Armed Services 

A BILL 

To reaffirm the authority of the Department of Defense 

to maintain United States Naval Station, Guantanamo 

Bay, Cuba, as a location for the detention of unprivileged 

enemy belligerents held by the Department of Defense, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Detaining Terrorists 

5 to Secure America Act of 2011’’ 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following finding: 

3 (1) The United States and its international 

4 partners are in an armed conflict with violent 

5 Islamist extremist groups, including al Qaeda and 

6 associated terrorist organizations, that are com7 mitted to killing Americans and our allies. 

8 (2) In the last 2 years, terrorists have repeat9 edly attempted to kill Americans both here at home 

10 and abroad, including the following attacks, plots, or 

11 alleged plots and attacks: 

12 (A) A September 2009 plot by Najibullah 

13 Zazi—who received training from al Qaeda in 

14 Pakistan—to conduct a suicide bomb attack on 

15 the New York, New York, subway system. 

16 (B) A November 2009 attack by Nidal 

17 Malik Hasan at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 

18 13 people and wounded 32. 

19 (C) A Christmas Day 2009 attempt by 

20 Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to detonate a 

21 bomb sewn into his underwear on an inter22 national flight to Detroit, Michigan. 

23 (D) A May 2010 attempt by Faisal 

24 Shahzad to bomb Times Square in New York, 

25 New York, on a crowded Saturday evening, an 


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1 attack that was unsuccessful only because the 

2 car bomb failed to detonate. 

3 (E) An October 2010 attempt by terrorists 

4 in Yemen to send, via commercial cargo flights, 

5 2 packages of explosives to Jewish centers in 

6 Chicago, Illinois. 

7 (F) A February 2011 plot by Khaled 

8 Aldawsari, a Saudi-born student, to manufac9 ture explosives and potentially attack New 

10 York, New York, the Dallas, Texas, home of 

11 former President George W. Bush, as well as 

12 hydroelectric dams, nuclear power plants, and a 

13 nightclub. 

14 (3) Since the September 11, 2001, attacks on 

15 our Nation, the United States and allied forces have 

16 captured thousands of individuals fighting for or 

17 supporting al Qaeda and associated terrorist organi18 zations that do not abide by the law of war, includ19 ing detainees at United States Naval Station, Guan20 tanamo Bay, Cuba, who served as planners of those 

21 attacks, trainers of terrorists, financiers of terror22 ists, bomb makers, bodyguards for Osama bin 

23 Laden, recruiters of terrorists, and facilitators of 

24 terrorism. 


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1 (4) Many of the detainees at United States 

2 Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay provided valuable 

3 intelligence that gave the United States insight into 

4 al Qaeda and its methods, prevented terrorist at5 tacks, and saved lives. 

6 (5) Intelligence obtained from detainees at 

7 United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay was 

8 critical to eventually identifying the location of 

9 Osama bin Laden. 

10 (6) In a February 17, 2011, hearing of the 

11 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, the 

12 Secretary of Defense confirmed that approximately 

13 25 percent of detainees released from the detention 

14 facility at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo 

15 Bay are confirmed to have reengaged in hostilities or 

16 are suspected of having reengaged in hostilities 

17 against the United States or our allies. 

18 (7) Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an or19 ganization that includes former detainees at United 

20 States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay among its 

21 leadership and ranks, has claimed responsibility for 

22 several of the recent plots and attacks against the 

23 United States. 

24 (8) Detention according to the law of war is a 

25 matter of national security and military necessity 


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1 and has long been recognized as legitimate under 

2 international law. 

3 (9) Detaining unprivileged enemy belligerents 

4 prevents them from returning to the battlefield to 

5 attack United States and allied military personnel 

6 and engaging in future terrorist attacks against in7 nocent civilians. 

8 (10) The Joint Task Force-Guantanamo pro9 vides for the humane, legal, and transparent care 

10 and custody of detainees at United States Naval 

11 Station, Guantanamo Bay, notwithstanding regular 

12 assaults on the guard force by some detainees. 

13 (11) The International Committee of the Red 

14 Cross visits detainees at United States Naval Sta15 tion, Guantanamo Bay on a quarterly basis. 

16 (12) The detention facility at United States 

17 Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay benefits from ro18 bust oversight by Congress. 


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1 SEC. 3. REAFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY TO MAINTAIN 

2 UNITED STATES NAVAL STATION, GUANTA3 NAMO BAY, CUBA, AS A LOCATION FOR THE 

4 DETENTION OF UNPRIVILEGED ENEMY BEL5 LIGERENTS HELD BY THE DEPARTMENT OF 

6 DEFENSE. 

7 (a) REAFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY AS LOCATION

8 FOR DETENTION OF UNPRIVILEGED ENEMY BELLIGER9 ENTS.—United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, 

10 Cuba, is and shall be a location for the detention of indi11 viduals in the custody or under the control of the Depart12 ment of Defense who have engaged in, or supported, hos13 tilities against the United States or its coalition partners 

14 on behalf of al Qaeda, the Taliban, or an affiliated group 

15 to which the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Pub16 lic Law 107–40) applies. 

17 (b) MAINTENANCE AS AN OPERATIONAL FACILITY

18 FOR DETENTION.—The Secretary of Defense shall take 

19 appropriate actions to maintain United States Naval Sta20 tion, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as an open and operating 

21 facility for the detention of current and future individuals 

22 as described in subsection (a). 

23 (c) PERMANENT EXTENSION OF CERTAIN LIMITA24 TIONS RELATING TO DETAINEES AND DETENTION FA25 CILITIES.— 


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1 (1) LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF DETAINEES

2 TO FOREIGN ENTITIES.—Section 1033(a)(1) of the 

3 Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for 

4 Fiscal Year 2011 (Public Law 111–383; 124 Stat. 

5 4351) is amended by striking ‘‘during the one-year 

6 period’’ and all that follows through ‘‘by this Act’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Defense may not use 

8 any amounts authorized to be appropriated’’. 

9 (2) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION OF DE10 TENTION FACILITIES IN UNITED STATES.—Section 

11 1034(a) of such Act (124 Stat. 4353) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘None of the funds authorized to be appro13 priated by this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘No funds au14 thorized to be appropriated or otherwise made avail15 able to the Department of Defense, or to or for any 

16 other department or agency of the United States 

17 Government,’’. 

18 (d) SUPERSEDURE OF EXECUTIVE ORDER.—Sections 

19 3, 4(c)(2), 4(c)(3), 4(c)(5), and 7 of Executive Order No. 

20 13492, dated January 22, 2009, shall have no further 

21 force or effect. 

Æ 


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